It is very hard for a non-Christian to know what Christians really believe. The problem for anyone outside the Church is to know where to listen. The ones that shout the loudest tend to be from conservative groups. It is there that you may hear anti-gay rhetoric, support for a variety of Right wing causes and sometimes the most extraordinary rejection of many of the achievements of two hundred years of scientific research. There are, in fact, many other Christians who do not think at all like this. Such Christians do not go in for loud protestations. They are probably far more numerous than the conservatives who have the loudest voices but these latter will always appeal to journalists who want quick sound-bites. Because this voice is prominent, the Christian witness to society is thought to be politically and socially far from main-stream.
It is no secret that Surviving Church comes from a Christian stable that is liberal, inclusive and open to the findings of scientific research. The word ‘open’ is important in this context because, unlike conservative Christian opinion, there are many issues on which my opinions are in the process of formation. I also find myself on the side of the ‘situational ethicists’, those who believe that we work from individual situations rather than inflexible principles garnered from a particular reading of Scripture. My understanding of the Bible is also a work in progress. I keep finding new insights as I read it. Even if the Bible has not changed, I, as the reader and the world I live in, most definitely have done. Without all the changes that are going on, my study of Scripture might become, over the decades. rather dull. It is these changes and our attempts to apply the Bible to them that keeps bible study fresh and exciting. If there really was only one way, for example, to explain the death of Christ, might not people have become bored in hearing it explained to them over and over again?
My area of strong disagreement with conservatives is not that they preach and teach a set of ideas that I don’t agree with. The problem for me is that they insist that their ideas are mandatory and exclusive. The preacher is telling his flock in so many words ‘unless you believe this particular formulation of Christian doctrine, you cannot belong to this church or expect to receive salvation when you die’. Liberals, like myself, find the element of threat in this style of preaching quite alarming. It allows absolutely no scope for disagreement or doubt. The doctrines are presented in a take it or leave it way. The liberal approach to doctrine is not to say that this doctrine is what we teach and you must follow it to belong to our tribe. No, we explore the words of Scripture as well as the insights of literature and the imagination as all being tools through which to explore the reality of God. Our formulae and our words will always have the air of provisionality about them. The attempt to find Christian truth is always going to be described as a ‘work in progress’.
The idea that even the words of Scripture do not give us certainties is very threatening to many conservative Christians. They believe that their membership of the Church entitles them to be confident and certain in their formulae of truth. The response to this dilemma can be framed through a question. Does your understanding of being a Christian give scope for growth, change and transformation right through life? Was it, alternatively, something that was handed out complete and final on the day of your conversion? The idea that everything is given to us in terms of ‘salvation truth’ all at once leaves me with a sense of claustrophobia. I am condemned to go through the rest of my life repeating the same formulae connected with my salvation without any ‘deviation or hesitation’. The possibility or expectation that I might have a personal insight to add to the way that Christian truth is articulated, is taken away at a stroke. The only authorities are the precise words of Scripture and a few venerated teachers honoured by the particular tribe that I belong to.
To me, conservative Christianity fails one major test. It does not fail on the grounds that it teaches conservative doctrine, even though in this doctrine there are ideas that that I personally find uncongenial. Doctrine and differing interpretations of Scripture will always be areas for disagreement among Christians. There is no Church that has got everything perfect in this area. The problem for me is that to be a member of a conservative group seems often to close down the possibility for an individual to flourish as a full human being. Common-sense and basic psychology tells me that, as a Christian leader, I should never require that an individual close down in any area of potential growth. Rigorous, inflexible and fear-laden teachings about God can often stymie and blunt people, both in their spirituality and creativity. Creativity involves the ability to take risks and learn from mistakes. Spirituality, as it has been practised by every tradition of Christianity for 2000 years, has plunged deep into the resources of human culture, art and music. When these infinite possibilities for growth and change are in any way fenced off or restricted, something human dies. As a parent and a grand-parent I rejoice to see a child grow in every area of life and in every sense of the word. Sometimes they make wrong turns in the growing process but the child learns through those mistakes. In time they come to find a unique identity that God has prepared for each one.
I had in this blog wanted to share with my reader details of some fascinating new brain research, drawn to my attention, which explores how conservative Christians (and Trump supporters!) can become hard-wired to accept uncritically whatever teaching or information is shared with them, even when it is implausible. Education is supposed to create a healthy scepticism and questioning. Particular kinds of religious/political conditioning from early childhood -the promotion of ‘facts’ over creativity and mystery – makes a brain to have little resistance to various kinds of indoctrinating processes. It is, it is true, much easier for a majority to believe uncritically whatever is being taught them. Challenging teachers or propaganda is hard work. But without the ability to question and scrutinise, the potential for life as a full human being and as a Christian threatens to be extremely flat and one dimensional. The only people who gain from this situation are the ‘leaders’. They achieve power, status and sometimes wealth from shepherding large numbers of compliant obedient followers.
The question that has to be asked of me as a Christian is not what do you believe? The more important question is this. Does what you believe enrich your life, enable you to flourish as a human being and bring you into touch with a God who gives you hope, love and joy? That is the question and I suspect that the answer is not provided by words but by whether something radiates from one’s expression and demeanour. To use Christian language, is there ‘Christ in you, the hope of a glory to come?’